


lighter than the lightest sky

by literalvampire



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, I wrote this back in december when it was seasonally appropriate, M/M, Post-Canon, Stale memes, This is a story, an attempt at humor, but we're just here for a good time, genuinely don't think e. m. forster would classify this as plot, i guess ?, jus here for a laff x, projecting my grandma habits onto these guys (-:, rated t for language & some jokes about forest seduction, set in january after canon events
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-06 23:09:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14067609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literalvampire/pseuds/literalvampire
Summary: The sounds of the forest permeating the frosty January air around them were amplified as they fell into peaceful silence once more.The hearty snap of a branch under a deer’s hoof, a gentle flutter of wings, the ringing prrprrrprrp of a woodpecker chopping away at a tree trunk, the snow crunching softly beneath their feet.The sun winked at them through a part in the clouds every now and then._____Evan and Jared are home for winter break, and we're going for a walk with these two, a calm, lovely walk to relieve some stress and clear our minds





	lighter than the lightest sky

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warning: mention of a past panic attack

Jared Kleinman was In Love With Evan Hansen.

That was how he thought about it now - with capital letters. As opposed to the covert, non-capitalised inlovewithevanhansen he’d been in roughly a third of his life.

Maybe that estimate was excessive but since Jared had no clue how long he’d already had a crush on Evan before he finally came to the realisation that _oh, mother of fucks, that’s what this is_ at age fifteen, he took some creative liberties with the timeline. Not to mention that he wasn’t sure, where to draw the lines between a crush and love and Being In Love. Perhaps there were no clear lines to draw; the boundaries between emotional categories were always fuzzier than Jared liked them.  
During one of countless, desperate _how to get over your stupid crush on your stupid best friend_ internet searches, he’d read that crushes usually didn’t last longer than six months, before either developing into something more like love or people moved on, which, at the time, had worried him immensely.   
And if whatever stranger on the www could be trusted, Jared had been in love with Evan for longer than he was willing to admit even now.

“And where’s your mind right now?” A nimble finger dotted a line from the corner of his mouth along his chubby cheek to his left temple, which pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking up from the place his eyes had focused on, while he had zoned out - a dark, sticky-looking spot of _something_ on the dashboard above the glove department - he was greeted by a pair of warm, brown eyes and a small smile playing around his boyfriend’s lips.

Jared pushed his glasses up his nose with his left thumb.

“Just thinking about how much I love you.” Kind of true.

“Sure.” The smile widened with a chuckle, showing off Evan’s slightly crooked teeth as he fondly rolled his eyes, _I don’t believe a word you’re saying_. 

“No, really! It’s a shitload of love, in case you’re wondering.”

Evan just kept smiling, reaching into the backseat of Jared’s car to retrieve a scarf and a dark green beanie, which he tugged over his ears.

“You’re supposed to say it back, asshole,” Jared lamented as he took in the surroundings of the car.

Evan had pulled into the pretty much deserted parking lot of their old high school. The ugly building almost looked beautiful covered in the fresh, still undisturbed snow that had heavily fallen the night before. Jared eyed it with clear disgust etched onto his face.

“Anyway, why are we here of all places? I’d kind of hoped I’d never have to see this particular circle of hell again. Brings back bad memories, you know?”

Evan’s face fell a bit at that. That hadn’t been his intention. “I- the, uh, there’s. I mean-,” he closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath and collecting his thoughts before trying again. “There are some really nice trails, uh, in the forest behind the school? I thought we could try one of them? We’ve never been there. Together. So I thought it might be nice? But. We can go somewhere else, if you want to, uhm, that’s okay,” he glanced at Jared, unsure now.

A year ago his sentences still would have been littered with “sorry”s but he had worked on that and gotten quite good at not apologising for, well, everything all the time.

“No, no, it’s fine. That sounds good,” Jared said quickly. He hadn’t meant for his words to sound as aggressive as they had come out. Which was something he tried to get better at - it was a work in progress.   
His eyes silently said _I’m sorry_ before he did out loud. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.” Then he switched back to the jokier Jared that came easier to him. “I’m fine as long as I don’t have to actually set foot in that damn building ever again. Or at least not until our kids have to go there, I guess, if we move back here one day.”

Evan’s face lit up and the smile Jared craved so badly returned brighter than before.

“I’m sorry, whose kids?” he asked teasingly.

“…Shut up,” a blush reddened Jared’s cheeks as he exited the car, decidedly putting a stop to _that_ conversation.

So maybe he had daydreamed about a disgustingly domestic future with his boyfriend on a few occasions. Some of his lectures were boring as hell and he had to pass the time somehow.

Said boyfriend couldn’t stop grinning as he got out of the car as well and locked and unlocked and locked it again. He found Jared’s slip of the tongue incredibly adorable and he wasn’t innocent of fantasising about their potential future either. But he also knew how easy it was to tease Jared about being cheesy; he couldn’t let that opportunity slide.

Evan stepped directly in front of Jared, slipped the car keys into one of the big pocket’s of Jared’s navy coat, and proceeded to wrap the bright red, knitted scarf he’d taken out of the backseat earlier around the shorter one’s neck. When he was finished, he grabbed Jared’s left hand with his right, lifting his own left hand to cup the other’s warm cheek.

“When will you learn to dress appropriately for the weather? You’d be constantly ill, if it weren’t for me,” he said.

Jared snorted. “Good thing I’ve got you then. Thanks, _Mom_!”

Evan gave Jared’s forehead a quick kiss before tugging him in the direction of the forest, never disconnecting their hands.

“What’s it like? having three moms?” He asked easily.

“I think it’s four, actually, like, I’m pretty sure Heidi counts herself as my mom,” Jared pondered. “So, my situations not really any different from the one other children of divorce, who end up with two sets of parents, are in.”

“Gross to insinuate I’m dating my mom. _And_ that our mom’s used to be together.”

“Maybe Heidi is the step-parent.”

“ _Sorry_ , Oedipus, that doesn’t make the whole scenario any better. I don’t think your dad would appreciate being erased like this either.”

They stopped in front of a big map depicting the surrounding area. A blue line, a red line and a green line marked two circular routes through the forest and a trail that ended somewhere beyond the map. The blue swerved to the right before joining the shorter red line, making it about twice as long.

“So, uhm, I was thinking we could take the blue one? There’s this really nice bit along the lake there,” Evan pointed at the map, looking at his boyfriend in search of approval.

“I mean, it says the red is only like thirty-five minutes and that’s hardly worth the effort of driving here. We’d get more exercise going to Walmart and fighting a soccer mom over the last pint of on sale Häagen-Dasz. And who knows where we’ll end up with the green one. Definitely the blue,” Jared agreed, making Evan laugh a little.

The path leading into the rich woodland was sprinkled with tracks left in the snow by feet and paws that had wandered it before them. The wind had powdered one side of the tree trunks as generously as baroque wigs, and the branches were so heavy-laden it seemed they might snap under the weight of the snow. The thin twigs of the thicket framing the way were a plethora of dark veins under milk-white skin.

“A fun thing about this trail is that there are these, uh, info panels about the forest along the way.”

“That sounds cool.”

“Yeah, they’re, uh, intended for kids, I guess, but it’s nice that they exist, even though I obviously know everything that’s on them.”

“Are you trying to seduce me with your forest expertise again? How scandalous, I like it,” Jared, grinning, adjusted his glasses. The little gap between his incisors winked at Evan mischievously.

Evan blinked at Jared slowly, far beyond arguing this ridiculous point Jared brought up from time to time. “I don’t need my forest expertise for that,” he stated calmly.

Jared raised his eyebrows and made a noise somewhere between a snort and a scoff but didn’t contradict him. Instead he stumbled a little trying to kick up some snow in the general direction of Evan, who stuck his tongue out in response.

They continued comfortably silent.

The first time they’d gone for a walk together had been vastly different.  
A hot day in mid-July, their mouths overflowing with words pent up for months, apologies fluttering over lips, eyes spilling tears and forgiveness. 

Jared had also professed his _undying love_ for Evan that day, with a heart throbbing so hard he could feel it in his pinky toes.  
But they’d not gotten together that day; that had taken them a little longer. Until November, when Jared had come home from college for Thanksgiving break 

Both had come a long way since then and now they took a lot walks together, “like an elderly couple,” Ruth liked to remark. Ruth was Jared’s mom’s butch girlfriend and while she did have a point, walking just was perfect for them - a relaxing, no-pressure activity they could squeeze in between classes, if they had to.  
It was also the only form of exercise Jared was willing to engage in. 

“Well, that’s just intriguing as shit, wow,” Jared mocked as they halted in front of the first info board, large parts of which were illegible due to the night’s flurries of wind that had puffed snow against it hard enough to stick. Only the title, _Residents of the Forest_ , could be made out.  
To solve the problem, Jared gave one of the wooden posts holding the board a resolute kick, earning a disapproving look from Evan, _Don’t damage public property_.  
But the majority of the snow fell off, so Jared counted that as a win and brushed the rest off with his sleeve. 

The board depicted a bunch of woodland animals. A short info text was written next to each drawing and at the bottom the question _Which animals have you spotted in the woods?_ was posed in large letters.

“Nice stale memes though,” Jared pointed to where a gray tree frog and a coyote were pictured next to each other. “Such knowledge, very animals.”

“I’m just going to pretend you didn’t say that,” Evan let out an exasperated sigh. Sometimes he really felt like Jared was testing how far he could go without Evan breaking up with him over memes. Not the he would. But.

Jared covered his smug grin by tugging the scarf up to his nose. His voice was muffled, when he said, “I bet you’ve seen all of these with how often you hang out in forests. The only one I’ve seen is a woodland jumping mouse but that’s just ‘cause Maccy has left one in front of my bed as a sacrifice a few times. I think they’re like, extra special gifts, since he has to walk so far to even get to the forest. I appreciate them.”

Evan scrunched up his nose, a shudder ran up and down his spine, remembering just how familiar he was with the presents Jared’s ginger cat liked to leave him.

On one occasion, when he’d slept over at Jared’s house, he’d swung his feet out of bed all bleary-eyed and tired and slightly grumpy because they’d stayed up too late and Jared had refused to let him get up, whining that he’d freeze to death, even thought he really need to pee. The crunch of small bones under his bare foot had woken him up pretty thoroughly then.  
The sound and the deadly glare Macavity had shot him for being so careless with his gift still haunted Evan.

As they continued walking, he pushed the memory aside, instead opting to tell Jared about the live animals he had had the opportunity to observe. It wasn’t all that were presented on the board but probably more than most people came across.

“I’ve seen some, yeah. Like, well, this is kind of rare but, uh, one time, I actually saw a doe and her fawn. That was amazing! It was our sophomore year?” From the tone of his voice, Jared could tell that Evan was about to hold a five-minute monologue on this encounter. Not that he minded in the least, quite the contrary. He smiled and nodded encouragingly.   
“And I’d had an anxiety attack in class, so I went to the nurse, who told me to call my mom and wait there till she picked me up. But, of course, I’d lied on the phone and told my mom it wasn’t that bad and not to leave her shift and that I would be fine, so I had to wait at least two more hours, which was not fine at all.” 

Jared’s heart jolted unpleasantly, like somebody had wrapped clingfilm in a doorway as a prank and his heart had run right into it. Jared was amazed by how casually Evan talked about the bad state his mental health had been in, sometimes. It starkly highlighted the progress Evan had made and he squeezed his hand - _I’m so proud of you_ \- hoping to adequately communicate how much he meant that without interrupting him.

“But the nurse didn’t know that because I’d told her my mom would be there soon, because why wouldn't I lie? So anyway, sitting there waiting didn’t help me calm down at all at this point and I really couldn't stand being inside anymore. And the nurse must’ve known me well enough by then to know that I wouldn’t cause any trouble because she let me go outside to wait and, uh, you know, I still had plenty of time, so I went here. But I left the path, so nobody would see me and then I sat down on a tree stub and didn’t make a sound.

I don’t know how long I just sat there but after a while I heard leaves rustling, so I looked up. At first I didn’t even see the fawn because they were partly hidden behind trees and the doe was already, uhm, exciting because they’re so shy, usually. Jared, it was so cute. I mean, they were like a hundred feet away but it was still kind of… magical. I still don’t know why they came so close, normally they would’ve smelled me from afar and stayed away but-“

As Evan kept telling Jared about the birds at Ellison State Park and the abandoned baby bat he’d helped nurse back to health, Jared looked at him in awe, heart overflowing with affection. He loved Evan’s uninhibited ramblings, when he didn’t hold back despite being fully aware he was doing it.

They reached the next info board, which dealt with _Plants of the Forest_ , giving some information on dolls’ eyes, maidenhair fern and other common species.

“I’m pretty sure that doesn’t actually grow here,” Evan said gesturing to a picture of ragweed. “It’s way too moist, they prefer a dry environment.”

“Really?” It wasn’t like Jared had ever found any particular interest in plant life himself but when Evan talked about it the subject suddenly seemed incredibly fascinating.

“Yeah, I don’t know why they’d put them on there. But, fun fact,” Evan’s eyes glinted. “They’re part of the Asteraceae family, which is the same as the dandelion.”

“Fun fact.”

Continuing their way, they reached the part where the path wound alongside a small lake. The very middle of the water lay dark and still as a mirror, while around the edge it had already frozen solid, icy fingers stretching inwards.

Spotting this, Jared let out a delighted sound. “Do you think the lake’ll freeze over? Do you think we could skate on it? Oh my God, Evan, can we please go ice skating here?”

“I mean, I don’t know, if it will get so cold that the ice will be thick enough to safely stand on but yeah, sure,” Evan laughed at the overwhelming amount of enthusiasm in Jared’s voice. “We could always just go to a proper ice rink instead?”

“That is way less romantic,” Jared protested.

“So is breaking through the ice and falling into the freezing cold water,” Evan said.  
He turned his head sharply as he heard Jared sigh and grumble something that sounded like it might contain the word “buzzkill.”  
“Don’t act like that! I know you’re basically shaking with excitement at the thought of an ice skating date!" 

“I’m not! It’s a fun activity but I’m not, like, above average excited.”

“That’s a blatant lie! I’ve seen you cry at the Night Changes video more than once, Jared.”

“Maybe so.”

“You’re quoting memes; you have run out of arguments because I’m right.”

“Okay, okay, yeah, you’re right, shut up and take me to an ice rink, Harry,” Jared gave in.

Evan grinned in sweet triumph and seeing that was no less sweet for Jared; it was a win-win situation.

Sometimes Jared could hardly comprehend the way Evan made him feel, how he made his heart swoosh and his eyes widen with the simplest of things. Sometimes an overwhelming urge grabbed him to immediately express all this fondness, or else it might start oozing from his pores.

So about thirty feet from the next info panel - actually, Jared thinks they might have walked past one, while they were distracted by the lake and One Direction - he halted abruptly and tugged on the hand he was holding to get Evan to turn to him.  
He snuck a brief glance behind them. 

It was an old habit from the early stages of their relationship; neither of them cared anymore, if they were being seen. No person was around right now either way.  
The only one watching, unbeknownst to them, was a small eastern cottontail, who had sought out shelter in the thicket to take a break from its search for food. 

Evan made a small, startled noise as Jared, lightning-quick, raised himself up on tiptoes just a little it and laid his lips on the other’s. Since Evan was no stranger to Jared’s spontaneous outbursts of affection, he wasn’t too taken by surprise thought they were still mostly unpredictable to him.

It was really too cold to stand still for a longer period of time but they lingered for a short while, faces still close, noses nearly touching.  
Evan took that time to study Jared’s face for the umpteenth time. The slight curve of his brows, the redness that the cold had dusted on his nose and cheeks, the way his glasses always sat on his nose a bit crookedly. 

Jared pushed up his glasses with the thumb of his right hand, which had previously rested where Evan’s hip bone was hidden under thick layers of clothes.

“Let’s go have a look at that board,” he half-whispered, opening his eyes. “I think I saw some trees on it, so I have a feeling it’s your favourite.”

“Yeah? And where would that feeling come from?” Watching Jared’s mouth form into a smirk, Evan groaned before his boyfriend could speak up. “Don’t say anything, Jared, just… don’t. God, I can’t believe I’m dating you.”

“Neither can I,” Jared looked at him, both gap on full display, making Evan’s heart grow a size or two.

The info board was indeed about different types of trees. Pictures of trees, their leaves or needles and fruit, and their names were scattered across the board with the task to assign each tree the correct attributes written at the top.

“Sooo,” Jared said, “do you know which tree goes with what?”

Evan let out a small burst of laughter. “Of course, I do. I could’ve done this when I was like nine. Can you?”

Jared’s expression said, _Oh, please_. Jared said, “I’ve listened to you ramble about trees for _years_ , Evan, I think I know the basics at least.”

“I mean, I’m not always sure you’re actually listening.”

That stung the tiniest bit. Like a mosquito had landed directly on Jared’s heart and sunk its proboscis into the muscle, barely noticeable until it was gone and the bite started to itch.  
But Jared shoved that away for now, deciding it was way too nice a day to dig up issues of the past. 

“Well, excuse me, for getting lost in, like, the entirety of your marvelous facial features from time to time. They’re really quite distracting in certain light.”

Evan smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

“Anyway,” Jared went on, “that’s a red oak, which is the state tree and it produces acorns. That’s a dogwood tree, which makes these berries and _fun fact_ : New Jersey thought one state tree wasn't enough to express the amount of arboreal love we feel here, so dogwood is also one.”

“It’s actually the state memorial tree,” Evan carefully interrupted, “but other than that you’re right.”

“Told you I knew my tress.” Jared proceeded to match all the information almost without mistake. He did confuse a hickory and a beech tree but Evan had to admit he hadn’t been completely sure himself without looking at the solutions in the bottom right corner, since the pictures weren’t that clear to begin with and the board was a bit weather-worn.

Pride was written across Jared’s face as he looked at Evan, clearly awaiting some form of praise, _Aren’t you gonna say anything?_

“Yes, Jared, you did very well,” Evan’s words were tinged with sarcasm but that didn’t stop Jared from tilting his head up, lips puckered expectantly. “I’d like to remind you that, uh, this is intended for, like, twelve-year-olds.” Evan patted his head and turned to walk on.

Jared held him back and made a whiney sound, then incessantly started making kissy noises as if trying to attract an unfamiliar cat until Evan gave in, knowing the other relished in physical affection.

They started walking again.

“I’ll take that as proof that maybe sometimes you do listen to me.”

“Rude. I told you I’m almost always very attentive to what you’re saying. I’m just not as good at remembering plant shit as you are.”

The sounds of the forest permeating the frosty January air around them were amplified as they fell into peaceful silence once more.  
The hearty snap of a branch under a deer’s hoof, a gentle flutter of wings, the ringing prrprrrprrp of a woodpecker chopping away at a tree trunk, the snow crunching softly beneath their feet.  
The sun winked at them through a part in the clouds every now and then. 

A jogger ran towards them and passed without acknowledging their presence. _Typical_ , the look on Evan’s face said.

The quiet comfort was broken by Jared retracting his hand from Evan’s, who seemed confused, _What are you doing?_

 _Sorry_. “I think my fingers might actually fall off, if I keep them exposed to the freezing cold,” Jared explained as he adjusted his glasses before stuffing his left hand into one of his large coat pockets, where he’d kept his right hand warm for the majority of the walk. “You may have abnormally warm hands but not even the passion I feel for you can keep mine alive in this weather, love.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think to bring gloves for you,” Evan said.

“Not your fault. You already brought me the scarf. I’m just an idiot, who doesn’t know that, like, snow probably means it’s fucking cold outside.”

Evan laughed lightly, then quickly shoved his hand into the same pocket Jared’s had just disappeared in. The pockets really were huge and there was enough room for both their hands to fit inside relatively comfortably.

“Wow, you actually are trying to seduce me in public,” Jared remarked.

“I’m, uh- no- what- I mean, only if you want me to,” Evan wiggled his eyebrows.

Jared started cackling. “See, this is what I was talking about earlier. Think it might be a bit too chilly to shed clothes though. What a pity.”

“I always found twenty degrees a pretty pleasant temperature but it’s fine, if you’re not up for it,” Evan joked. “Just let me hold your hand, ya goof. Which is what I actually intended.”

“Well, right now you aren’t holding my hand. What I’m feeling is your hand on my tub like in those pictures of pregnant people but, like, more awkward.”

“Shut up, muffin top,” Evan poked Jared’s soft stomach though the fabric separating it from his finger.

“You love it,” Jared said faux offended.

A wide smile. “I do.”

Jared thought he should check, if the snow around his feet was melting from how warm he felt inside.  
Both grinning, they clumsily intertwined their fingers again; the restriction of the pocket posing a small challenge. 

The forest got less dense as they followed the path, until suddenly a patch the size of a small field opened to their left, completely devoid of trees bar for one ill-looking pine with a partly blackened trunk, that stuck out of the grassy environment like a sore thumb.

Appropriately enough, the next information panel talked about _Dangers to the Forest_ , illustrating the negative effects of vermin, forest fires, pollution, and people, who endangered flora and fauna by means of deforestation and overhunting.

“It’s pretty sad actually but they had to burn down the trees there,” Evan gestured to the empty area. “I, uh, don’t know exactly which one but some bug, I think, had started to infest the trees, so they burned them to make sure it wouldn’t spread to the entire forest.”

“Why is that one still standing?” Jared was genuinely interested.

“Uh, I really don't know. It seems pretty risky to leave it, and, and obviously it took some damage from the fire,“ he broke off.

“Looks pretty dead, honestly.”

“No, I mean, yeah, it does but it’s looked like that ever since the fire and that was like a few years ago. And it’s still there and making pinecones and everything it should be doing, really.”

“You’ve been keeping an eye on it, haven’t you?”

Evan’s already cold-reddened cheeks turned a shade darker. “Uhm, kind of? I haven’t been here in a while now but before that, in school, yeah. It stands out a lot, so it’s not difficult or anything.”

“Oh my God, you’re so cute,” Jared stated dryly. “Like, not to sound patronising or anything but that is positively adorable, sweeter than a donut.”

“Someone had to keep an eye on it,” Evan laughed a bit. “I mean, there were probably proper forestry workers doing that but, you know, better safe than sorry.”

“Evan Hansen, saviour of the forest… Wow,” Jared swiftly pulled boyfriend, who stumbled a little, not having expected Jared to run off, along the way behind him. “Come on, let’s keep going. This tree graveyard is making my depression tingle again and, uh, I don’t need that.”

After a few minutes of quiet, Jared spoke up again. “You know what we should do? We should set Heidi up with somebody.”

“Uhm, what,” was Evan’s articulate answer.

“Well, she can’t keep being the only single person at Hansen-Kleinman get togethers. It’s you and me, and my mom and Ruth, and… her. Like, midnight on New Year’s Eve was almost sad."

“I don’t think she sees it like that. At all. I’m, uh, pretty sure she’s happy with the way things are and if she wanted a relationship, she’d get one herself.”

“Would she though? Don’t get me wrong, I _adore_ your mom,” Jared accentuated this by dramatically throwing his hand over his heart, before hurriedly  burying it in his coat again, “and I think she’s a catch. But does she ever leave the house, except for, like, work? She needs to put herself out there.”

“Please don’t make it your project to set my mom up with some random person.”

“Yeah, I can’t do that. ‘Cause the problem is that I don’t know enough people her age for that to work.” Jared’s face morphed into an offended expression at the relieved sigh Evan let out. “But! We could at least give her a little push in the right direction.”

Evan had more or less accepted his fate now. He knew that arguing was pretty much useless at this point and only answered with a small groan, which Jared ignored.

“Your mom likes reading, right? That’s a mom thing; mom’s read. And maybe you could, like, mention in passing that the book club my mom used to go to meets in the library on Wednesdays at five,” Jared shortly paused for effect. “And maybe she can meet a nice lesbian there like my mom did!”

“My mom’s not queer, Jared.” Evan was less than impressed by Jared’s scheme.

“Or she hasn’t had her gay awakening yet.”

“She turns forty next month.”

“It’s never too late to realise who you are, Evan!”

Evan chuckled. “Yeah, okay, you’re right about that.” He decided to throw Jared a bone. While he was very sure his mom had no intention of entering a romantic relationship anytime soon, he still appreciated Jared’s concern, even if it was out of place. “I’ll tell her, if it makes you happy. About- about the book club. Not about her gay awakening. Or you worrying about her being single.” Jared quickly pumped his fist and readjusted his glasses. “But only because I don’t want you to meddle any further. I’m _pretty sure_ she’s fine without a romantic partner.”

“Alright, I won’t stick my nose in any further. Speaking of your mom though, do you think there’s any chance she’ll be home when we get back, and make us some hot chocolate, if we ask, like, super nicely?”

Evan thought for a moment. “Uh, no, sorry. She’s at work, I think. But I can make us some.”

“Hm, I guess that’ll have to do.” Jared’s answer earned him a light whack on his upper arm. “ _Sorry_ , we both know Heidi makes the best hot chocolate in the universe. But since you did inherit some of her witchy skills that’ll prove satisfactory.”

Evan tsk’ed good-naturedly.

“Close your eyes,” he said suddenly.

Jared promptly did as he was told, then, furrowing his brow, asked, “Wait. Why?”

“Okay, don’t laugh-“

“I won’t laugh.”

“You might but- The last board’s coming up and this one’s actually my favourite, and I want it to… be a surprise,” Evan said and, upon seeing the big grin Jared was sporting, “See! You’re laughing!”

“I’m not! No! I’m just really happy you’re my boyfriend.”

They walked a couple more feet before Evan stopped them in front of the sign.

“Okay, now you’re allowed to laugh. It’s a bit stupid but-“ he cut himself off.

“Can- can I open my eyes now?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, obviously.”

“Obviou-,” Jared froze. He just stared at the board in front of him for a few seconds, then began cackling loudly. “Evan, I love you so much, oh my God!”

The panel showed a big, low-resolution of a person with their arms around a tree, which was returning the hug with weirdly shaped branch limbs that were more reminiscent of tentacles than arms. In bright red font it said _Time To Hug A Tree!!!_ There was also a short text on how _you learnt so much about the forest today!_ and a few lines on how you should _experience the hug with_ all _senses. Feel the bark, smell the leaves._

“Graphic design is my passion,” Jared was still wheezing at the image.

“It’s a real work of art. I’m terrified of that tree,” Evan was laughing as well, “and you wouldn’t think that was even possible.”

“It looks like the tree is about to strangle the tiny human for coming near it.”

“They didn’t have to make the nose look that much like a dick, or give the tree a face at all!”

“The Comic Sans really adds to it, great font choice.”

“I honestly don't know what happened here. All the other boats are fine and what you’d expect from something educational.”

“They probably had, like, a super enthusiastic person on the creative team, who wanted to do all the work, but they knew it would result in disaster. So they gave him the last one that doesn’t matter, like ‘yeah, of course, you can help, we’re stoked to see your great work,’ and let skilled people design the actually informational ones,” Jared theorised.

“Sounds plausible,” Evan grinned at his boyfriend, who craned his neck to press his cold lips to Evan’s even colder cheek, accidentally knocking his glasses against his light pink nose a bit. “So, which tree do you want to hug?”

Jared used his thumb to fix the way his glasses sat on his nose, _Are you actually being serious right now?_  
A few seconds of silence passed, Evan just blinking back at him.  
“Okay, yeah, sure, let’s give these trees some love,” Jared complied. “I’ll take, uh, this one right there.” He pointed to a tree with black and white pinto bark. “The birch? I’ve always thought they looked pretty funky.” 

Evan snorted quietly. “I’ll go with the oak behind it.”

Together they left the path to stumble a few feet into the grove. Evan pulled his hand from Jared’s coat pocket and they each went to wrap their arms around the trunk of their chosen tree.

“I can't believe I’m doing this,” Jared mumbled. “But I also can’t believe we’ve been dating for this long and are just now hugging trees, so… I shouldn’t be surprised.”

He watched Evan out of the corner of his eye. He had his eyes closed, his cheek nestled to the rough bark and he seemed as calm and content and he could be. Jared felt another rush of fondness run through his veins but decided not to act on it right now.  
Instead he shut his eyes as well in an attempt to immerse himself. It was… actually quite nice, he found. Somewhat ridiculous but there was something about embracing this still but so clearly living being that was really pleasant, soothing.   
The quiet was only interrupted by the occasional bird cawing or the faint bustle of a small animal tending to whatever business it might have, until Evan pulled back from his tree after what may have been three minutes.

“You ready?” he asked. 

“Hm, I dunno. I might stay here, start a new life with my tree boyfriend,” Jared got drawn from his tree by Evan, who stuck their hands into the same coat pocket again, this time intertwining their fingers beforehand, making the ordeal much easier.

“You’d regret that choice as soon as you realised he can’t warm your freezing toes at night.”

“Oh, yeah, right. How could I forget the biggest advantage of dating you?”

“Shit, I knew you were just using me for heat.”

“Hey, I didn’t say that was your only good quality. Like, I also think you are very handsome, definitely prettier than the tree.”

“My favourite thing about you is that, uh, you’re not at all superficial.”

Their snickering spelled _I enjoy existing with you_ and the following silence empathically added, _Always_.

Their surroundings were changing steadily now, signifying that their walk was coming to an end. As Jared told Evan about something Alana had told him, when they’d video chatted the other day, the thicket retreated more and more, eventually completely disappearing on their right. The path widened as it ran along the edge of the forest instead of through.  
Then they’d left the forest behind and headed for the parking lot. Evan looked back for a couple seconds, thinking how much everything had improved since he’d last been there.

Shortly before they reached the car, he disentangled their fingers and Jared rummaged around his pocket a bit, then around the other one, until he unearthed the keys with a triumphant, “Ha!” and handed them back to Evan.

 Once they’d both put on their seat belts and Evan had stuck the key in the ignition, he took a moment to just look at Jared, who turned to him, unveiling the tooth gap, _What are you waiting for?_

Evan’s heart glowed as he took the other’s hand again and raised it to his lips to press a soft kiss to its back, before starting the engine.

Evan Hansen was In Love With Jared Kleinman.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed !!
> 
> the title's from "twenty toes" by tom rosenthal
> 
> I wrote this upon realising that I'd hardly written more than twenty consecutive words since finishing school, so. thought I should do that, maybe. & therefore I wrote six thousand words of light-hearted nature fun, as you do.
> 
> feel free to leave some kudos or a comment saying nice things or pointing out any mistakes I made - it's up to you, really  
> you can also hmu on tumbler dot com / literalvampire, if you so desire


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